My Father’s Last Letter

by Ruskin Bond

‘You’re not afraid, are you?’ ‘No. Not as long as you’re with me.’ There are few feelings better than being held in the warm and protective embrace of an affectionate and kind father figure. And there are few feelings as heartbreaking as losing that embrace—briefly or forever. In My Father’s Last Letter, Ruskin Bond recounts his childhood memories and the times he spent with his father. These moving short stories and anecdotes pay homage to the unique connection Bond shared with his father, narrating how he inherited his father’s passion for collecting stamps, love for listening to old records on the gramophone and a desire for adventure. Brimming with feelings of love and loss from a walk down Bond’s ‘garden of memories’, this book is bound to tug at your heartstrings and give you a newfound appreciation for your parents.

128 pages, Paperback

Published July 5, 2023

About the author

Ruskin Bond is an Indian author of British descent. He is considered to be an icon among Indian writers and children's authors and a top novelist. He wrote his first novel, The Room on the Roof, when he was seventeen which won John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957. Since then he has written several novellas, over 500 short stories, as well as various essays and poems, all of which have established him as one of the best-loved and most admired chroniclers of contemporary India. In 1992 he received the Sahitya Akademi award for English writing, for his short stories collection, "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra", by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters in India. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 for contributions to children's literature. He now lives with his adopted family in Landour near Mussoorie.

Reviews

[Surabhi Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have read his autobiography,'Lone Fox dancing', then you have already read this book.

[Mehnaz Amjad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful stories

This collection takes on a various rides,more so in the personal space of Ruskin, predominantly of his eccentric Uncle Ken,the sea adventure from Singapore to Burma and his Grandfather
Some key pivotal figures and people in the life of Ruskin.

[A_Chirping_Aquarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that is a perfect ode to Mr bond’s fathers presence in his books, short stories collection and what not.


It actually has a letter exchange between father and son. It’s so beautiful to see and it’s magical in its way that I want to write a letter to my father😊 guess will do on his birthday this year… 🤓


I am in awe of his writing as always and just so so happy with how the entire story came out. It’s magical , wonderful and the stories no matter how many types you have read them still have the unsaid magic to pull you into them and every-time you read them it’s just soothing to soul and mind.


This is the reason I keep going back to Ruskin Bond’s books , because of the magic and the place they transport me to..

If it was not that article in CW I read of him in 6th grade , I would have never been a reader and if it was not for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra , I would never been an avid reader.


Each book shapes your reading , gives you experiences that sometimes are difficult to say aloud but that’s the journey of the reader and the author ✍🏻. It’s one delightful relationship one can have ! 😇😇


I am so happy to have with so many of my favourite authors .

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology with an amazing introduction by the author about "father" and 14 pieces that he wrote about various emotions and the relationship with his father.

[Anand Nagda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good memories to rebound

[Arnav Bhardwaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming simple stories from Ruskin Bond's personal life. Many of the stories were already there in many of his previous books though so reading some new ones would have been nice.

[Misha Bharti · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful and insightful sneak peak in those times! Definitely a refreshing perspective - of a white soldier's.

[Suresh Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories are really good to read, the narration is unique. I love to read Ruskin's books...